320
HUDIBRAS.
[PART III.
While he, poor devil, has no pow'r[1] 1475
By force to run down and devour;
Has ne'er a Classis, cannot sentence
To stools, or poundage of repentance;
Is ty'd up only to design,
T' entice, and tempt, and undermine: 1480
In which you all his arts outdo,
And prove yourselves his betters too.
Hence 'tis possessions do less evil
Than mere temptations of the devil,[2]
Which, all the horrid'st actions done, 1485
Are charg'd in courts of law upon;[3]
Because, unless they[4] help the elf,
He can do little of himself;
And, therefore, where he's best possest
Acts most against his interest; 1490
Surprises none but those who've priests
To turn him out, and exorcists,
Supply'd with spiritual provision,
And magazines of ammunition;
With crosses, relics, crucifixes, 1495
Beads, pictures, rosaries, and pixes;
The tools of working our salvation
By mere mechanic operation:
With holy water, like a sluice,
To overflow all avenues: 1500
But those who're utterly unarm'd,
T' oppose his entrance, if he storm'd,
By force to run down and devour;
Has ne'er a Classis, cannot sentence
To stools, or poundage of repentance;
Is ty'd up only to design,
T' entice, and tempt, and undermine: 1480
In which you all his arts outdo,
And prove yourselves his betters too.
Hence 'tis possessions do less evil
Than mere temptations of the devil,[2]
Which, all the horrid'st actions done, 1485
Are charg'd in courts of law upon;[3]
Because, unless they[4] help the elf,
He can do little of himself;
And, therefore, where he's best possest
Acts most against his interest; 1490
Surprises none but those who've priests
To turn him out, and exorcists,
Supply'd with spiritual provision,
And magazines of ammunition;
With crosses, relics, crucifixes, 1495
Beads, pictures, rosaries, and pixes;
The tools of working our salvation
By mere mechanic operation:
With holy water, like a sluice,
To overflow all avenues: 1500
But those who're utterly unarm'd,
T' oppose his entrance, if he storm'd,
- ↑ He, that is, the Independent, has no power, having no classis, or spiritual jurisdiction, to distress us by open and authorized vexations. Stools mean stools of repentance, on which persons were compelled to stand and do penance for their sins. Poundage is the commutation of punishment for a sum of money.
- ↑ He argues that men who are influenced by the devil, and co-operate with him, commit greater wickedness than he is able to perpetrate by his own agency. We seldom hear, therefore, of his taking an entire possession. The persons who complain most of his doing so, are those who are well furnished with the means of exorcising and ejecting him, such as relics, crucifixes, beads, pictures, rosaries, &c.
- ↑ "Not having the fear of God before their eyes, but being led by the instigation of the devil," is the form of indictment for felony, murder, and other atrocious crimes.
- ↑ Some editions read "you help."
